


taking care of things

by ghostfaeries



Series: birds of a feather [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Damian Wayne, Autistic Tim Drake, Brotherly Bonding, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne-centric, Echolalia, Fluff, Gen, Platonic Cuddling, Sibling Bonding, Stimming, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne Bonding, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne Get Along, Tim Drake is Bad at Self-Care, Tim Drake-centric, Trans Damian Wayne, Trans Tim Drake, also mentioned adhd dick and kon cause thats how we roll in this house, but hes trying!!!!, i swear this boy, its not his fault he is big autistic it happens, mentioned timkon birdflash and jayroy, nothing big so not worth tagging, why do these two have such specific tags, why is that also a tag, yeet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25955494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostfaeries/pseuds/ghostfaeries
Summary: “You need to go to bed right now or I’ll tell Pennyworth you didn’t sleep all night.”That wiped the grin right off his face.“Shit, no, don’t tell Alfred, anything but that,” Drake begged.“Anything?”Drake gulped and seemed to contemplate it, before ultimately sighing and complying. “Anything.”~Damian finds Tim early in the morning before anyone else is up. Bonding ensues
Relationships: Tim Drake & Damian Wayne
Series: birds of a feather [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836946
Comments: 10
Kudos: 361





	taking care of things

**Author's Note:**

> After 500 years I have returned with a sequel!! Honestly you can be too was never meant to have one, it was just an impulse write, but I got more ideas so I made it into a series. Thank you to everyone who left kudos and nice comments on ycbt, it's greatly appreciated <3
> 
> I actually started writing this just because I got stuck in an echolalia loop for 40 minutes and wanted to do the same thing to Tim because I love projecting
> 
> It's not entirely necessary to read you can be too before this one, though there's references to it so it would be useful to do so, but i cant tell you what to do
> 
> ~
> 
> Content warnings: there's not much here, only vague hints at Tim accidentally not taking care of himself bc hyperfocus (including forgetting to eat) and a short scene that contains food (starts after the first scene break and ends at the next one) That's all i think, it's mostly fluff and bonding tbh
> 
> DISCLAIMER: please do not interact with this fic in any way if you ship Dick, Jason, Cass, Tim, Damian or Duke with each other as this makes me very uncomfortable as someone with siblings, thank you

It was always strange to have the manor be quiet. Even though Richard didn’t live here anymore, he dropped by nearly every weekend, his booming laughter driving away the silence. Todd also occasionally came over, usually for tea with Pennyworth, and together with Grayson and Drake he always managed to stir up quite the ruckus. Cassandra was quieter, but Brown often visited her and Drake, so she wasn’t void of sound either. The same went for Thomas, who’d been quiet when he’d first moved in, but as time went on had gotten more comfortable with living with them, and his voice had quickly joined the symphony. 

Drake was probably the loudest, with his boyfriend the clone and his friends Bart Allen and Cassandra Sandsmark visiting fairly often. When Drake’s friends joined forces with Cassandra, Brown and Thomas, the noise was near unbearable. Father always turned a blind eye, despite his past insistence of having no metas in Gotham and especially not in Wayne Manor. Though Damian supposed it was kind of hard to enforce that rule when you had one living in your house. 

Then there were of course the monthly family dinners on Sunday, with all extended family joining, including Grayson and Todd’s partners West and Harper, Harper with his daughter Lian. Brown and Gordon often joined as well, despite the fact they didn’t technically have familial relations to the Waynes. Drake’s friends joined occasionally also, even though Sandsmark didn’t have the relation to the family Kent and Allen had, Kent being Drake’s partner and Allen being related to West. She’d been accepted as part of the family regardless. 

The amount of people at those functions always filled up the house with sound, bouncing off the ancient walls, filling up the rooms sat empty. Damian had caught Father smiling to himself a few times, as if he was happy with the way his life had turned out, being surrounded by a massive family. Damian understood. Father’s life had been silent, ever since that night when he was eight. Those two gunshots had been loud, consuming everything, and life had been quiet for him ever since. 

Until Richard showed up, that is. 

Damian was contemplating all this while walking through the halls of Wayne Manor on his way to the kitchen, trying to decide if he should steal Richard’s beloved Lucky Charms or actually eat something nutritious, when his thoughts were interrupted by a noise, which was strange at this early hour. Bats tended to wake up late, with the exception of Thomas and Pennyworth. 

It was a voice. Someone was talking. His steps faltered as he located the source, deciding to investigate. It was coming from a door on the right, which led to one of the many lounges in the house. 

Damian gripped his knife by the hilt – he always had at least three blades on his person – and approached. He opened the door, its hinges silent thanks to Pennyworth insisting on oiling them regularly. 

He stood in the door opening, taking in the sight before him. He hadn’t been expecting to see Drake upside down on the couch. His legs were slung over the back, socked feet lazily kicking the air. his head lolling over the edge of the seat. He was frantically typing on a laptop balanced on his stomach, the light illuminating his face in the dark room. He was babbling, which was what the sound had been, Damian noted. 

“One hundred and ten, one hundred and ten, one hundred and ten.” Drake kept repeating the words, seemingly not having taken note of Damian’s arrival. 

“What are you doing?” 

Drake startled at the sound of Damian’s voice and jolted, tumbling off the couch in the process. He went down with a yelp, curling around his laptop protectively. The idiot was so focused on making sure his laptop didn’t take any damage, he didn’t think to shield his own head, resulting in him bumping it against the coffee table. He groaned but didn’t get up, just checked to see if his laptop was unharmed and resumed his typing and murmuring. 

Damian sighed and walked up to him, looking down at his dumb brother. 

“Drake. What the hell are you doing?” 

“One hundred and ten, one hundr- oh, hi, Dami.” Drake looked up from the screen, although he didn’t stop typing. 

“What the fuck are you saying?” 

Drake looked puzzled for a second. “Saying...? What am I- oh! One hundred and ten. I’m working on a spreadsheet and I first said it out loud so I would remember, but then I just kept saying it. I’ve been stuck in an echolalia loop for like twenty minutes now.” 

“Echolalia. That voice stim you told me about a week ago?” 

Drake nodded enthusiastically from his place on the floor. “Yeah, that!” Drake then frowned, seeming to think something over. “Why are you up so early? Bats don’t usually wake up before 10 am,” Drake questioned. 

“Jonathan is a stupid farmer who wakes up at ridiculous times and has a terrible habit of texting me awake at seven o’clock,” Damian grumbled. “And why are you asking me questions when you have also awoken early?” 

Drake stayed silent and looked away guiltily. 

“You didn’t go to sleep at all, did you.” It wasn’t a question. 

“Look-” 

“I know you were working on a case, you are always working on a case. Father, Grayson _and_ Pennyworth have told you numerous time you need to keep a good sleep schedule. You should listen to them.” 

Drake’s eyebrows shot up and Damian realised what he’d just said. “So you can perform in optimal condition as Red Robin, of course.” 

“Okay then, Damian, sure.” Drake looked infuriatingly smug. 

“You need to go to bed right now or I’ll tell Pennyworth you didn’t sleep all night.” 

That wiped the grin right off his face. 

“Shit, no, don’t tell Alfred, anything but that,” Drake begged. 

“Anything?” 

Drake gulped and seemed to contemplate it, before ultimately sighing and complying. “Anything.” 

Damian smirked. “Follow me.” 

* * *

Turns out Damian just wanted to get some food into him. The little menace had led him to the kitchen and pushed him into a chair and was now rifling through the cabinet (he was so short he had to climb on the counter to reach the highest shelf). Damian pulled out a bowl, jumped down and set it in front of Tim. He then swiftly turned around and grabbed a spoon from a drawer, throwing it toward Tim over his shoulder. Tim, being so sleep deprived he had a delayed reaction time, couldn’t catch the spoon in time and it hit him square in the face. 

“Thanks,” He said drily, bending down to pick the spoon up from the floor. Alfred would chastise him for using cutlery that’s touched the floor, but what Alfred didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. “What are you doing exactly?” 

“Richard said cereal has high nutritious value, so I have elected to make you a bowl,” Damian said, setting a box of Lucky Charms on the counter. 

“Cereal... is highly nutritious.” 

Damian rolled his eyes and pulled a carton of milk from the fridge. “Yes, Drake, that’s what I just said.” 

You know what, he wasn’t going to fight it. If Damian wanted to make him a bowl of cereal, be his guest. Tim often forgot he was still a thirteen year old kid who would believe everything his beloved older brother told him. Tim wondered if Dick was just trolling or if he was trying to convince himself as well. His eating habits were truly atrocious. 

Damian sat down on the chair next to Tim’s and tt-ed. “Have you not started yet?” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Honestly, Drake, how have you managed to survive for this long? You can be so incompetent at times.” He pulled Tim’s bowl toward him and opened the milk carton. 

Tim couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“Are- are you pouring the fucking milk first?” 

“Yes, obviously. Can you not see that? Do you need to go to an optician? Are your eyes performing correctly?” Damian was squinting at Tim’s face, as if he could see if there was anything wrong with his vision with his naked eye. 

Tim snorted. “Damian, no- I can see fine. I was just... expressing my disgust at you pouring the milk first instead of the cereal.” 

Damian cocked his head to the side. It made Tim want to giggle. He looked just like a bird. A tiny baby bird. (Okay, maybe he was more sleep deprived than he thought. Maybe.) 

“So what? The order in which the ingredients are added does not matter. The content is the same.” 

Tim shook his head disapprovingly. “If Dick saw this, he'd disown you.” 

Damian rolled his eyes. “If Grayson saw this, he’d be annoyingly overjoyed I am taking care of you.” 

And that’s what it was, wasn’t it? Damian was taking care of Tim, making sure he was eating. Yes, they’d gotten closer after the whole autistic revelation, but Tim hadn’t thought Damian cared this much. To be honest, it was kind of heart-warming to know that his little brother (Because that’s what they were, weren’t they? Brothers.) was looking out for him, even if he disguised it under bad excuses of wanting Tim to be at full capacity during missions. 

Damian wordlessly slid the now filled bowl over the counter toward Tim. He gave Tim a pointed look and Tim sighed and picked up his spoon, putting some Lucky Charms into his mouth. They sat in silence beside each other for a while, Tim eating his cereal and Damian staring at his hands. 

“Here.” 

Damian set a glass of milk in front of him. Tim frowned. 

“Uh, Damian, I’ve already got an entire bowl of milk.” 

“Tt. You need all the milk you can get. It promotes growing. You’re way too short.” 

“I’m taller than you!” Tim squawked. 

“You’re taller than me _now_. I am not done growing. I will become taller than you.” 

Tim drank his milk. 

* * *

“-ake? Drake!” 

Tim shot up, just before his face would have landed in his now empty bowl. Damian was looking at him judgmentally, arms crossed, brow raised. “Timo- Drake. Drake, what are you doing?” 

Tim gaped at him. 

“Did you just-” 

“No!” Damian snapped, looking away stubbornly. “I certainly did not.” 

“You just called me by my first name. _You_ just called _me_ by my _first name_.” 

“You must have hit your head harder than I thought, Drake, if you can spew such nonsense.” 

Tim completely talked over him. “O my god, I need to tell Dick, he’s gonna be so proud.” 

“Do _not_ inform Richard of this, or I will poison your coffee and feed your remains to Titus,” Damian threatened. 

Tim opened his mouth but Damian cut him off. “You should go to sleep before I tell Pennyworth on you.” 

“Is your tactic to get me to do anything just to threaten me with snitching to Alfred?” 

Damian raised one brow and smirked like the brat he was. “Is it not working then?” 

Tim just grumbled and got up, walking towards the door. Damian stood up as well and followed after him. Tim gave him a questioning look. “Why are you following me? Don’t you have anything better to do?” 

“I’m making sure you actually do what I told you to, and won’t just go back to staring at your laptop.” 

Tim shrugged. He didn’t really care either way. Now that he wasn’t torturing his eyes with bright light anymore and had his belly full of warm food, his exhaustion was catching up to him, and he was ready to faceplant his mattress and sleep for three days. “Whatever.” 

Tim made his way over to his bedroom, Damian following him like a tiny bodyguard. Tim didn’t bother changing into pyjamas. He was wearing a shirt he’d stolen from Kon and sweats, surely that counted. 

He plopped down on his bed, turning to address Damian. “See, I’m in my room and about to go to sleep. I did what you said so- hey, is that the chewy I got you?” 

There was necklace resting against Damian’s collar bone that looked suspiciously like the one Tim had ordered for him. 

“No,” Damian said stubbornly. 

Tim fixed him with a look. 

“Maybe,” he reluctantly admitted. 

Tim broke out into a smile. “I’m glad you like it.” 

Damian huffed. “It’s fine.” 

“Sure, Babybat, sure.” 

“Just go to sleep, you imbecile. If we get an emergency situation, you wouldn’t be of any help in the state you are now.” 

Tim waved his hand vaguely. “It’s daylight, after sunrise it’s Duke’s city.” 

Damian frowned. “You are aware that that is not a hard rule when it comes to emergencies, right?” 

Tim rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m aware, it’s a Lion King reference, dummy.” 

Damian just stared at him blankly. Tim couldn’t believe it. “You have never seen the Lion King?” 

“No.” 

“We have to watch it right now, you’ll love it. It’s about animals, you like animals, right?” 

Damian nodded slowly. “I do.” 

Tim sat up. “Give me my laptop, we’re doing this immediately.” 

“You need to sleep, Drake.” Still, Damian handed him the laptop. 

“Doesn’t matter, this takes priority.” 

“Fine. I guess we’ll watch your dumb movie. But you’re going to sleep right after.” 

Tim waved him away. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just come here so we can watch this.” 

Tim rummaged around in the box under his bed, pulling out a DVD. He settled under the covers with his back propped up by a pillow. He patted the spot next to him to signal to Damian he could sit there. Damian hesitated for a moment but then crawled further on the bed and sat down next to him. Then, to Tim’s surprise, Damian leaned against him, letting his head rest on Tim’s shoulder. 

“Uh, what are you doing?” 

Damian tt-ed. "Richard says that this action called 'cuddling' is helpful to those having trouble sleeping. Therefore, I am providing you with such 'cuddles', as to optimise your performance in the field.” 

Tim blinked. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Damian was making up excuses to cuddle him. Although, he supposed he and Damian had cuddled before, that one time last week. Neither of them had brought it up again, but ever since they’d been less hostile to each other. Some might even say they were outright friendly, though both boys would deny that vehemently 

“Okay then. Go ahead, I guess.” 

Tim put the DVD in his laptop. 

“Why do you have that still?” Damian asked. “I thought DVD’s were outdated. You could easily find the movie online.” 

“I know, but I like having physical copies of my old animated movies. They’re a special interest of mine.” 

“A what?” 

Tim frowned, trying to remember if they’d discussed the topic. “A special interest. Did I not tell you about those last week?” 

Damian shook his head. “I’m unfamiliar with the term.” 

“A special interest is, well, an interest. But it’s more than just that. It can be kind of a life consuming thing, a near obsession. It’s an autistic thing as well, though people with ADHD, like Dick and Kon, can have them too. Solving cases is another one of my special interests actually. I started trying to solve murders I came across in the newspaper when I was young. That’s why I kept tabs on Batman and Robin as well. When I’m solving cases I often go into hyperfocus, which is what I was experiencing just now when you found me. It’s basically what it says, it’s a state of very intense focus, which can make you forget your surroundings, and even to eat, sleep, or pee, because you’re solely concentrated on the one task you’re doing.” 

Damian hummed. “Does Father know of this?” 

“Huh? Yeah, of course B knows, he’s autistic himself. He does the exact same thing. Dick too.” 

“Hm. I shall have to inform all of you to eat and drink when you are in a state like that. I will inform Pennyworth of this as well, although I am sure he knows.” 

“Aw, thanks, Dami. That’s sweet of you.” 

Damian flushed, then seemed to contemplate something. “Could art also be a... special interest?” 

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. Do you like art?” 

Damian nodded shyly. “I enjoy drawing and painting.” He hesitated for a moment, before asking, “Would you... would you like to see some of my drawings sometime?” 

Something in Tim’s chest fluttered warmly. He knew Damian had trust issues, had only really opened up to Dick and Bruce, and the fact that he would be okay, and even offer it himself, with Tim seeing his artwork, so often a method of expressing one’s hidden thoughts and feelings, gave him an intense feeling of joy. “I would love to.” 

“Then it is settled. You shall show me your special interest in the form of animation movies, and I shall show you mine.” Damian nodded seriously, as if he were talking about a life or death situation. 

Tim smiled. He was glad to know Damian had a hobby he enjoyed. He didn’t know many details about his life in the League of Assassins, but he could imagine they weren’t too keen on doing things just for enjoyment. He deserved to experience what it was like to be a normal kid. “Well, let’s get this movie rolling then.” 

* * *

Damian was adorably transfixed on the movie. Tim suspected it mostly had to do with the lion aspect. He wondered if animals were a spin of his. It sure seemed like it, with the way he collected pets like Bruce collected kids. Maybe he should ask him about pet care. Tim filed the note away in his brain for later. Now, he just focused on watching a movie with his baby brother, who at this point had wrapped himself around Tim like a sloth, fiddling with a familiar cube. 

Tim had just closed his eyes and was slowly drifting away, when something shook at his shoulder rather roughly. He opened his eyes again, squinting at the light. Damian had a hand on one of his shoulders. 

“What?” 

“Tt. Tell me you are not so foolish you sleep in your chest binder, Drake. You told me not to do that when you got me one, don’t be an imbecile and go against your own advice.” 

Tim waved him away. “It’s okay, Dami, I’m not wearing it right now. Don’t worry about it, I may be a forgetful bitch and a bit of an idiot sometimes, but I’m not so dumb that I’d ruin my chances of getting top surgery. Thanks for looking out for me, though.” He ruffled Damian’s hair to show his gratitude. 

Damian scowled but didn’t duck out from under his hand. “You better.” 

Tim smiled. The kid was doing a really bad job of pretending he didn’t care. It was kind of adorable. He shuffled down until he was laying horizontally, his laptop balanced on his stomach so Damian could keep on watching. He closed his eyes again and was out in seconds. 

* * *

Drake passed out rather quickly after that. Damian silently finished the movie (it had been enjoyable) and when it was over, he closed the laptop and moved it over to the nightstand, careful not to jostle Drake. He hadn’t been planning to go to sleep again, but he had to admit Richard’s methods worked. He pulled the covers over him and Drake and settled against his brother’s chest. His ear was on his heart, the steady beat slowly lulling Damian to sleep. Just before Damian drifted away, he felt an arm circle around his shoulder, pulling him in close. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> no that is not something you got me, damian said, you know, like a liar
> 
> Damian is fully aware cereal isn't all that nutritous, he just isn't very good at cooking and needed an excuse for not cooking a proper meal
> 
> Those first paragraphs about the family came out of nowhere it was so strange. I was about to edit and then that just happened, which added a whole unplanned 300 words, but hey im not complaining. The family dinner thing is one of my personal headcanons that ive used for another of my fics as well, fittingly named family dinner. The huge family is part of the canon me and my buddy Ae (thegreatestsun, amazing writer check em out) follow. It consists of the batfam superfam and flashfam who are all connected cause of Dick & Wally, Jason & Roy and Tim & Kon dating, so you get one massive family. If anyone is interested in hearing more about that feel free to send me an ask or dm or whatever on my blog @autistic-damian-wayne
> 
> Anyway, I've rambled for long enough. I've got at least one more fic for this series in the works and some vague ideas so this is certainly not the last you'll see for this series. Hope you enjoyed <33
> 
> (Also please never sleep in a binder or wear it for over 8 hours that's very bad for you)


End file.
